While I appreciate a film attempting to
address hot button topics, this needs to be done in a way that is intelligent
and thoughtful. It is not merely enough to make a movie about a transgender
teenager as she navigates the tough road to becoming transsexual. Some might
argue that any film with this topic is a step in the right direction, because
at least these characters are being depicted onscreen, but the film also has to
be good in order for people to see it. If nobody sees the film, it doesn’t much
help the conversation, and I definitely would not recommend 3 Generations to anyone, in or out of
the LGTBQ community. This is a poorly made film full of contrivances and
unsympathetic characters, badly written and lazily directed. Worst of all, the
transgender character is not even the main focus of the narrative, despite
being at the center of it.

There is no
shortage of problems with 3 Generations,
but it all starts with the characters. Teenager Ray (Elle Fanning) was born Ramona,
but has identified as male since she was 10-years-old. This seems young to me,
but I am not well-versed enough in these topics to know if that is common. Add
this to the list of things that the film could have addressed, rather than the
petty melodrama it instead chooses to focus on. Ray is instantly a bit
unlikable as a typical know-it-all teenager, but that has little to do with her
gender identity and more with her age. Somehow the film never asks Ray to grow
or develop at all, the way nearly every other film protagonist must, because
that might imply that she is not perfect. The problem with this approach is that
it goes too far. Transgender people are still human, and therefore are both
flawed and capable of growth. The refusal to hold Ray to these basic standards
is insulting in itself.

But the main
reason that Ray has no development throughout the film is not only because he
is poorly written, but because this insultingly bad screenplay by Nikole
Beckwith and Gaby Dellal chooses to make Ray’s mother the protagonist instead.
Maggie (Naomi Watts) is somehow even more immature than her teenage daughter,
making the film all about her horrible mistakes and inability to own up to
them. Without going into details which could be considered spoilers, the story
behind Ray’s conception is unforgivable beyond the fact that it completely
hijacks the narrative from Ray’s decision to transition from female to male.
The only reason that it even comes up is due to the fact that Ray needs her
father’s signature in order to get the sex change procedure done, but that
becomes a minor conversation compared to the one about Maggie’s treatment of
Ray’s father. If Maggie is intended to be the protagonist, this portion of the
film makes her completely unsympathetic, and therefore unworthy of that central
role. Not to mention how casually it pushes Ray to the side of the narrative.
The film was originally called About Ray, but I can see why they changed the
title, as this film is far more about Maggie than her child.

Ray and Maggie
are two of the generations from the title, with Dolly (Susan Sarandon) making
up the third as Ray’s grandmother. Just to make sure that the politically
correctness has been properly shoved down the audience’s throat, Dolly is also
a lesbian in a long-term relationship with live-in girlfriend, Frances (Linda
Emond). As obnoxiously contrived as this is, Dolly and Frances may be
the only well-rounded characters in the film. They aren’t given much to do
other than be there as the voices of reason, but it is far better than enduring
the cliché YouTube videos and arrogant attitude of Ray or the immature whining
of Maggie. The closest Dolly and Frances get to a storyline of their
own is their decision to ask Maggie to finally move out of their home to find a
place of her own. Maggie accuses them of “breaking up” with her, in a typically
irritating example of her character and the poor attempt at humor in the
dialogue written. Sarandon deserves much better than this film. This topic
deserves much better. Audiences deserve better.

The Blu-ray is
as poorly constructed as the film itself. The trailers before the film are all
oddly outdated, even including one for a film that is several years old. The
actual special features only include unnecessary deleted and extended scenes,
once again wasting opportunities by not including a featurette on
transgender/sexual issues which could have educated those with questions. A
Digital HD copy of the film is included.